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Santa Rosa police report drop in downtown calls after plaza substation; enforcement team to shrink from 8 to 6 officers
Summary
Police told the subcommittee the Downtown Enforcement Team (DET) saw a drop in calls following a move into the Santa Rosa Plaza substation but will be reduced from eight to six officers on Aug. 10; officials warned the reduction will likely affect coverage of homelessness and quality-of-life responses.
Santa Rosa Police Department leaders told the Public Safety Subcommittee that their Downtown Enforcement Team (DET) has reduced downtown calls and visible encampments since moving into a Santa Rosa Plaza substation, but that a planned staffing cut will shrink the unit from eight officers to six on Aug. 10 and likely change patrol hours and coverage.
“Since 2024 through the June, my team has responded to 2,400 calls and ... has made 650 arrests,” Sergeant Tim Barrett said, describing DET’s workload and its partnerships with city departments and business groups. Barrett said the team has worked with fire, code enforcement, public works, housing and the Downtown Action Organization and reported only eight active encampments in the city as of June. He and other commanders credited coordinated operations for the reduction.
The department said moving the DET into a plaza substation in mid-April increased visible presence and helped reduce calls. “From May 24 through July 24, there’s been 203 calls of service. ... since the downtown team moved into the plaza, we’ve seen ... only 128 calls for service,” the department reported.
Chief John Krieg told the committee the change from eight to six officers — a 25% reduction — is part of larger sworn staffing losses across the department and will require schedule changes. “We will likely see an increase in homelessness issues throughout the city and downtown, and also having fewer officers reduce our capacity to assist other units,” Sergeant Barrett said.
Committee members pressed for outreach to downtown merchants and the Santa Rosa Plaza, which provided the substation space free under a 10-year arrangement. The chief said he has discussed with plaza management possibilities such as a plaza-funded community service officer to staff the substation lobby.
On vehicle encampments and abandoned RVs, DET said the city enforces a 72-hour parking limit and uses abandoned-vehicle processes and state codes (for registrations expired more than six months) to remove vehicles. The department noted a partnership with a safe-parking program that hosts more than 50 vehicles and confirmed that public-works crews had collected about 1,300 cubic yards of trash citywide since July 2024.
Officials also said enforcement targets criminal behavior without criminalizing homelessness. “We do not want to criminalize homelessness. We want to identify criminal behaviors ... and enforce it the same way we would for any element of our population,” Captain Dan Marenzic said, calling for countywide collaboration and more prosecutorial support to hold people accountable for criminal acts.
Why this matters: Downtown enforcement levels affect business districts, public safety and visibility of homelessness. The planned staffing cut will likely change DET’s hours and reduce capacity to partner on investigations and special events.
Next steps: Police said they will finalize new DET schedules in the coming weeks and continue discussions with community partners about supplemental support for downtown presence.
